Untitled Document

13 September 2002

1. "Ocalan’s lawyers under investigation", Justice Minister Aysel Celikel informed that an investigation about KADEK President Abdullah Ocalan's lawyers was initiated on the grounds that they "took unfair advantage from their position".

2. "KADEK: MHP is a war provocator", reacting harshly against MHP which had displayed its aggressive stance against KADEK President Abdullah Ocalan, KADEK called on the Kurdish people and democratic forces to react against it.

3. "Constitutional Court partially rejects MHP's appeal", saying that the Constitutional Court decided to discuss the appeal of the MHP from its substance, the Speaker of the Court Hasim Kilic stated that, "The court rejected the MHP appeal to cancel some articles of the EU adjustment laws".

4. "Transmuted Erdogan sitting pretty to become Turkey’s next prime minister", Turkey’s Recep Tayyip Erdogan rejects defining his Justice and Development Party (AKP) as Islamist. He believes that is tantamount to “provocation,” not to mention “confusion.” Erdogan says he doesn’t understand why he should continue to be subjected to questions about the Islamist nature of the AKP.

5. "Turkey: Coalition Partners Cross Swords Over EU Reforms, But Is It All About Human Rights?", fears of a delay in November legislative polls emerged this week as fresh rebellion simmered in Turkey's fragile government. The latest crisis was triggered by a dispute between Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit's coalition partners over recent legal changes needed to qualify for entry in the European Union. Yet many in Turkey suspect politicians are far less concerned about human rights reforms than they are with political survival.

6. "Turkish coalition partner proposes delaying November elections", a Turkish deputy prime minister on Thursday suggested that early general elections scheduled for November be postponed for over a month amid reports of a budding rebellion within parliament to push back the date for the poll.

7. "European Council criticizes Turkey", the European Council Parliament prepared a report criticizing Turkey regarding its application of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) decisions.

8. "Yilmaz: Elections In Germany Are Very Important For Turkey - E.U. Relations", Deputy Prime Minister Mesut Yýlmaz said on Thursday that the results of the general elections in Germany carried great importance in respect of Turkey-EU relations.

1. - Ozgur Politika - "Ocalan’s lawyers under investigation":

Justice Minister Aysel Celikel informed that an investigation about KADEK President Abdullah Ocalan's lawyers was initiated on the grounds that they "took unfair advantage from their position". Celikel responded to the accusations of MHP Deputy Chairman Sevket Bulent Yahnici of "aiding and abetting" Ocalan by a written statement. The Minister argued that some of the articles published and signed by Ocalan were found out as written by his lawyers. Celikel also claimed that an article in September 7, 2002 copy of Yeniden Ozgur Gundem seemingly by Ocalan had not been written by Ocalan but by his lawyers. "Therefore an investigation about these lawyers was initiated immediately for abusing their professional position," said Celikel.

ANKARA / 12 September

Justice Minister Aysel Celikel informed that an investigation about KADEK President Abdullah Ocalan’s lawyers was initiated on the grounds that they “took unfair advantage from their position”. Celikel responded to the accusations of MHP Deputy Chairman Sevket Bulent Yahnici of “aiding and abetting” Ocalan by a written statement. The Minister argued that some of the articles published and signed by Ocalan were found out as written by his lawyers. Celikel also claimed that an article in September 7, 2002 copy of Yeniden Ozgur Gundem seemingly by Ocalan had not been written by Ocalan but by his lawyers. “Therefore an investigation about these lawyers was initiated immediately for abusing their professional position,” said Celikel.

The Minister continued to say the following: “As convicted Abdullah Ocalan has applied to the European Court of Human Rights having the right granted by laws and regulations, he meets with his lawyers in an environment where nobody can overhear them.”

Celikel pointed out that claims that Ocalan sent documents directly to media and rule his organization were without a sound ground.

And she called Ocalan as “a prisoner of high security risk”, saying that therefore he had been kept in a cell in Imrali Closed Prison where high security measures were taken.

2. - Kurdish Observer - "KADEK: MHP is a war provocator":

Reacting harshly against MHP which had displayed its aggressive stance against KADEK President Abdullah Ocalan, KADEK called on the Kurdish people and democratic forces to react against it.

FRANKFURT / 12 September 2002

KADEK Council of Leaders stated that MHP (Nationalistic Movement Party, an extreme nationalistic party) was provoking war and wanted to drag Turkey into war. The Council, in a statement to MHA, said the following: "At a time at which Turkey tries to slip out of the deep crisis and takes measures for it, MHP works for deepen the problems. It has selected our President as its target in order to keep adjustment laws from yielding positive consequences and to drag Turkey into a war climate."

Pointing out that KADEK President Abdullah Ocalan was condemned to a life devoid of basic human rights, KADEK stressed that in spite of excessively limited and difficult life conditions it was thought provoking that such attacks were aimed at him.

The statement continued as follows: "Their justification is that our President meets with his lawyers weekly and his family members at certain intervals. Even the right to meet with his lawyers was not made possible seemingly because of bad weather conditions. And meetings with his family are even rarer. What should be done is to improve his life conditions, more importantly, to grant his freedom. Otherwise there can be no progress towards solution and a lasting peace. Consistent stance of KADEK and the Kurdish people is for creating an opportunity for the state to take such steps."

The Council underscored that the Kurdish people would never accept such a treatment and MHP's attacks on President Ocalan would not be accepted under any justification.

"We will make intensive efforts"

Drawing attention that nobody who loved his/her country could not be act as to cause a war again, the Council stated that they would contribute to the implementation of the EU adjustment laws. The statement continued with words to the effect: "As adjustment laws get opportunity to be implemented, a lasting peace will be established and solution to problems will be possible. We, as KADEK, will make efforts to reinforce and strengthen the process, in this sense to make negotiations with Turkey possible. Our first priority is to get a date from EU for negotiations. At the same time we will give utmost importance to overcome potential dangers. KADEK, while take a democratic Turkey as its main goal, will resist the attacks of either MHP or other reactionary forces. It will not give any opportunity to those who want to put war on the agenda again."

3. - Turkish Daily News - "Constitutional Court partially rejects MHP's appeal":

Saying that the Constitutional Court decided to discuss the appeal of the MHP from its substance, the Speaker of the Court Hasim Kilic stated that, "The court rejected the MHP appeal to cancel some articles of the EU adjustment laws"

ANKARA / 13 September 2002

Top Turkish court partially rejected the appeal of the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), the senior partner of the three-party coalition government and the largest party in Parliament, to overturn laws granting Kurds minority rights and abolishing the death penalty, saying the EU-demanded reforms amounted to concessions to separatist organization the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK).

Kilic also said, "The application from MHP to the court demanding a stay of execution of these laws will be negotiated after a report is prepared about this demand."

Nationalist party MHP had petitioned the Constitutional Court to overturn some EU adjustment laws on Monday. Deputy Prime Minister and MHP leader Devlet Bahceli said parliament's passing of the reforms last month were in haste and due to an election environment and "put under threat the basis of the Turkish Republic."

"These reforms will have serious effects on national unity," Bahceli had said before applying to Turkey's Constitutional Court. "Everyone who loves the country should be worried."

Nationalists, the largest party in parliament, were the only party to oppose the reforms, which eliminate the death penalty in peace time and allow Kurds to broadcast in and teach Kurdish - key requirements for Turkey's EU bid.

Lawmakers rushed to pass the sweeping legislation in August fearing Nov. 3 elections could prevent parliament from passing the reforms in time for an EU summit in December. The summit is expected to decide on EU enlargement and Turkey is hoping to get a date for its accession talks.

The nationalists had also asked the court to overturn legislation giving the nation's Jewish and Christian minority's greater authority over communal property such as synagogues and churches.

4. - The Daily Star - "Transmuted Erdogan sitting pretty to become Turkey’s next prime minister":

13 September

Turkey’s Recep Tayyip Erdogan rejects defining his Justice and Development Party (AKP) as Islamist. He believes that is tantamount to “provocation,” not to mention “confusion.” Erdogan says he doesn’t understand why he should continue to be subjected to questions about the Islamist nature of the AKP.

“Even the term ‘Islamist party,’” he argues, “implies disrespect to Islam. Although we have been saying all along that our party has no Islamist credentials, continuing to describe it as such shows a lack of respect for the AKP itself.” Erdogan has thus decided to keep his AKP outside the Islamist circle. In fact, he has been making efforts in that direction for some time. For example, he hasn’t met with his former “political and spiritual mentor,” Necmettin Erbakan, since 1998. Erdogan has been trying to chart a new course in politics that would avoid the problems and difficulties Erbakan has been facing since 1970.

When Erbakan’s Fazilet, or “Virtue,” Party (FP) was outlawed in June 2001, Erdogan made a point of underlining that he was politically divorcing his former mentor. With the demise of the FP, the Islamist political movement in Turkey split into two parties: Recai Kutan’s Saadet, or “Happiness,” Party (SP), and Erdogan’s AKP. The SP was seen as the FP’s legitimate heir, since it won Erbakan’s support. The former FP activists who founded the AKP, meanwhile, set out to create a new identity for their party, a process that is still going on.

Turkey’s Islamists have not forgotten the catastrophe that befell their movement after the “measures of Feb. 28,” 1997 were introduced and marked the beginning of a vicious campaign calculated to uproot all Islamist manifestations. Many Islamists blame Erbakan for what befell their movement in 1997. They say that his insistence on making demands on behalf of the Islamists as well as his impatience to become prime minister in 1996 scared the Turkish political establishment and the army so much they decided to unseat him through the “virtual coup” of Feb. 28.

Since then, the Turkish regime has used all available means to eradicate what it terms “the Islamist threat.” The most effective of those means was the judiciary, which used all the constitutional and legal means at its disposal to accuse Islamists of all manner of “crimes.” Erdogan himself was prosecuted and jailed for reciting a poem.

Yet it appears that Erdogan and his followers in the AKP have understood how vicious the Turkish regime can be and decided to pursue a new strategy designed to fight the regime from within, depriving it of the legal and constitutional weapons it fought them with hitherto.

Erdogan, AKP deputy Abdullah Gul, and other party leaders decided to avoid referring to Islam at all. In fact, the AKP leader has stated publicly that the issue of women’s veils does not even figure on his list of priorities. The AKP has been at pains not to give the impression that it is an Islam-based party for two main reasons: It wants to avoid political and legal prosecution; and it wants to attract as much of the voting public as possible.

It is the latter point that angers Turkey’s secularists and the military most. On the whole, the Turkish electorate traditionally does not vote for incumbent parties. Consequently, the current climate in Turkish politics is working to Erdogan’s advantage, first because the parties making up the ruling coalition have led the country into its worst ever economic crisis (ordinary Turks are now 100 percent worse off since the Ecevit government took power), and second because of Erdogan’s successful record as Istanbul mayor. What he is saying to people now is: “I will be as you have always known me. I honor my promises.”

Erdogan is promoting himself as the choice of all Turks. While Erbakan used to say the European Union was an “old rag,” Erdogan promises his party would do all it can to facilitate Turkey’s entry to the EU. He has expressed his backing for Turkey’s relationship with the IMF. He has also been reassuring EU ambassadors in Ankara of his intentions. Just a few days ago, the Danish ambassador said (after meeting with the AKP leader) his government was ready to do business with any elected Turkish government.

Erdogan, meanwhile, insists that his party is capable of forming the next government on its own. Indeed all the other parties have been acting on the assumption that their failure will result in victory for the AKP. That is why they have been trying hard to enter into alliances with each other, at least to ensure a presence in the next Parliament.

There is no doubt that an Erdogan victory in the November poll would cause a revolution in Turkish politics. The AKP leader is already being accused of hiding his true intentions. In fact, Erdogan has been playing the game to perfection. He has given the impression of being a realistic, moderate and accessible politician. He has also been careful not to be associated with any statements that could land him in trouble.

Yet Turkish law works in mysterious ways. Moreover, overwhelming public sympathy for Erdogan might persuade the powers that be to tread on dangerous ground. One possible course would be to prevent him from running in the election on the pretext that he was convicted under Article 312 of the Penal Code. Should that happen, however, the AKP would gain even more sympathy and support, and the regime would find itself in an even more precarious situation.

There are other ways, of course. Erdogan’s reputation is being assailed by a campaign of rumors and leaks to dissuade the electorate from voting for his party. One story says the AKP leader’s sons are studying in the US at the expense of a Turkish businessman. The establishment is also trying to scare ordinary Turks with the image the country will acquire should Erdogan win power.

Secular journalist Bekir Coskun writes in the Hurriyet daily: “I don’t want to see Erdogan become prime minister. I do not want to see my minister greeting other people with Assalamu Alaykom. I don’t want to see my prime minister sending his veiled daughters off to study in the lands of the infidels (the US and Britain). I don’t want to see a prime minister whose veiled wife refuses to shake hands with anyone.”

Responding to Coskun’s diatribes, former MP and prominent journalist Nazli Ilicak says: “If the veil were legal in Turkey, perhaps Erdogan would not have been forced to send his daughters to study abroad. Instead of blaming him, maybe Turkey itself should be blamed … Had Turkey been a normal country, Erdogan’s criminal record would have been cleared.” And Mustafa Karaalioglu writes in Yeni Safak: “A country that goes to the (Nov. 3) polls with so many prohibitions cannot ask to become a member of the EU one month later.”

Turkey’s other political parties fearful of not winning enough votes to enter Parliament have been trying to link up with each other. The Turkish military, together with the US government and the IMF, have been trying to form a leftist-liberal coalition by persuading former economy minister Kemal Dervis to join the leftist CHP. Now that Erdogan is in danger of being barred from running, how will the confrontation end?

Mohammad Noureddine is an expert on Turkish affairs. He wrote this commentary for The Daily Star

5. - Radio Free Europe - "Turkey: Coalition Partners Cross Swords Over EU Reforms, But Is It All About Human Rights?":

Fears of a delay in November legislative polls emerged this week as fresh rebellion simmered in Turkey's fragile government. The latest crisis was triggered by a dispute between Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit's coalition partners over recent legal changes needed to qualify for entry in the European Union. Yet many in Turkey suspect politicians are far less concerned about human rights reforms than they are with political survival.

PRAGUE / 12 September 2002 / by Jean-Christophe Peuch

The coalition cabinet of Turkish Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit is once again teetering on the verge of collapse as two its of its partners publicly squabble over reforms needed to qualify for entry in the European Union.

Because of an earlier crisis prompted by Ecevit's faltering health, Turkey's parliament in July voted to call for early legislative polls 18 months ahead of schedule. The mandate of the current parliament should have expired in April 2004, along with that of the ruling coalition.

Elections are now scheduled for 3 November, and opinion polls suggest none of the current coalition parties is likely to be represented in the next cabinet.

Results of a Deutsche Bank-sponsored opinion poll released on 4 September show that Ecevit's partners, the far-right Nationalist Action Party (MHP) and the center-right Motherland Party (ANAP), would garner 6.1 percent and 3.7 percent of votes, respectively, far below the 10 percent threshold needed to be represented in parliament. The same survey indicates that support for Ecevit's Democratic Left Party (DSP) has reached a record low of 1.1 percent. Once the largest parliamentary group, the DSP has lost 70 deputies and nearly 10 cabinet ministers over the past two months. With only 58 seats left, Ecevit's party is now the sixth-largest group in the legislature and is on the verge of extinction.

The latest spat erupted after MHP leader and Deputy Prime Minister Devlet Bahceli on 9 September petitioned the Constitutional Court over a package of human rights reforms meant to accelerate Ankara's European Union membership bid.

Among legal changes voted on by the Turkish Grand National Assembly on 3 August are provisions scrapping the death penalty in peacetime and bestowing greater cultural rights over the country's 12 million-strong Kurdish minority.

Before the vote, Bahceli had said he would not challenge the reforms. But the MHP, which the latest crisis has left with the largest number of seats in parliament, now insists it opposes any such changes, lest they threaten national security.

On Monday, the far-right leader said he would also ask Turkey's highest court to annul another of the so-called "harmonization laws" that allows non-Muslim minority religious groups to buy and sell real estate.

Addressing reporters shortly before submitting his petition to the Constitutional Court, Bahceli was scornful of the European Union. "Parliament hastily adopted the European Union harmonization laws in the hope that [Turkey] would receive a timetable for membership talks and that a date [for the start of the talks] would be set up this year," Bahceli said.

The EU next month will review progress made by all 13 candidate countries before deciding on which ones to invite in its first enlargement wave in December. On 5 September, the EU told Turkey it would wait to see how reforms are being implemented before setting a date for accession talks.

The 15-member bloc also wants Ankara to use its influence on northern Cyprus's Turkish administration to help reach a peaceful solution to the division of the Mediterranean island before it joins the EU. Finally, Brussels wants Turkey to reduce the influence of its powerful army generals on domestic politics before engaging in formal accession talks.

The European Commission's tepid reaction to last month's parliamentary vote has triggered a new flare-up of frustration in a country where 70 percent of the population favors entry into the bloc.

Disillusionment with Europe is likely to profit Bahceli, who recruits a large part of his support from among the 30 percent of Turkey's so-called "Euroskeptic" voters.

Debate over EU-related reforms is likely to increase as the election campaign officially starts on 16 September, but not necessarily because of concern for human rights.

On 10 September, ANAP leader and Deputy Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz, who oversees relations with Brussels in the government, criticized his far-right coalition partner for challenging EU-related legal reforms and threatened to withdraw from the ruling coalition. "We, the Motherland Party, cannot remain a partner in a government that stands in the way on Turkey's road toward the European Union. We cannot take this responsibility," Yilmaz said.

Later that same day, Yilmaz demanded that an interim government be formed "that would both take Turkey to the elections and carry out efforts to harmonize [its legislation] with the EU."

Yet, Yilmaz has given confusing signals on how he intends to achieve his stated European ambitions.

Shortly after threatening to withdraw from the cabinet, the ANAP leader reportedly urged Ecevit to step down during a private meeting in the prime minister's office. Hours later, he called upon nationalist ministers to quit the government.

Addressing journalists yesterday as he was leaving for Brussels, Yilmaz said his party would decide "in the coming days" whether to leave the government. A decision had initially been expected earlier that day.

Many in Turkey suspect the ANAP leader is, in fact, fighting for his political survival.

In an interview with Turkey's NTV private television channel on Tuesday, MHP Deputy Chairman Bulent Yahnici accused Yilmaz of "gambling with the future of the Turkish people." That same day, Mehmet Ali Sahin, a deputy chairman of the moderate Justice and Progress (AK) Islamic Party, which has been consistently leading opinion polls since its creation last year, said that, in his view, Yilmaz is "seeking ways to escape from elections."

While calling for a cabinet reshuffle, the ANAP leader is publicly standing by the early election date. But Ecevit yesterday implicitly accused his deputy of misleading his constituents by playing political games. "When Mr. Yilmaz met with me yesterday, he said it was necessary to give up [the idea of] early elections. [However,] this was not made public," Ecevit said.

Yilmaz bluntly dismissed the charge, claiming that Ecevit had "misunderstood" him. Be that as it may, one of Yilmaz's deputies, Bulent Akarcali, candidly admitted last month that most mainstream parties were secretly hoping that elections would be called off. But he also said none of their leaders wanted to assume responsibility for openly advocating a poll delay.

Should Yilmaz withdraw from the coalition, parliament would have to be recalled from summer recess to discuss the fate of the cabinet, unless Ecevit decides to step down on his own. But on 10 September, the prime minister rejected such a scenario once again. "All my colleagues [in the government] believe that it would not be right for us to withdraw from the Council of Ministers at this stage because Turkey is going through a very sensitive period. Early elections will be held. Our nation will go to the polls in about 1 1/2 months and, given these circumstances, we cannot assume the responsibility of causing a change of government," Ecevit said.

The Turkish leader also dismissed fears that Bahceli's petition to the Constitutional Court and the dispute between his coalition partners will negatively affect relations between Ankara and Brussels. Ecevit also made it clear he believes the EU reforms are just a pretext used by the two prime ministers and party leaders for electoral purposes. "I do not believe our relations with the EU will suffer from that. There may be other factors that may hamper our relations and create difficulties. That one coalition party decided to go to the Constitutional Court to have certain constitutional amendments revoked should not cause a crisis or an upheaval. Unfortunately, it seems that our two coalition partners have drawn their swords. The conditions created by the [upcoming] elections have brought to an end the dialogue that we had been pursuing so carefully for the past 3 1/2 years. I was against holding elections before April 2004 because I knew this would happen," Ecevit said.

Though parties met yesterday's deadline to submit their lists of candidates, the question of whether the early poll will really take place continues to haunt Turkey's political establishment.

Parliamentarians barred from re-election -- commonly referred to as the "Disgruntled" -- are widely suspected of hoping for a postponement scenario that would save them from political oblivion. They may be looking for the support of those mainstream political parties that are unlikely to get enough votes to enter parliament.

Former prime minister Tansu Ciller last month said she had been approached to replace Ecevit and form a new coalition cabinet that would postpone the elections. Although Ciller did not specify who had originated the plan, analysts believe the invitation most likely came from Yilmaz's ANAP.

Ciller, who on 10 July said she was ready to succeed Ecevit in the event of a U.S. war on Iraq, now claims she does not favor postponing elections.

Should Washington decide to take military action against Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, Ankara would almost certainly be required to assist U.S. forces. A war could also involve Turkish troops that have been stationed in Iraq's mainly Kurdish north since the end of the 1991 Gulf War.

Turkey looks at the prospect of turmoil along its southern border with alarm, but analysts believe it is in no position to influence the U.S. decision because of its dependency on International Monetary Fund loans.

The Turkish Constitution reads that, in case of war, parliament may decide to postpone elections for at least one year with only a simple majority of votes.

Ecevit argues that now that elections are scheduled for 3 November, any delay could be harmful to the country. So far, he can rely on President Ahmet Necdet Sezer and army generals who oppose any change in the election timetable, lest Turkey be plunged into political chaos and efforts to stem a nearly two-year-old economic recession be jeopardized.

Nevertheless, Ecevit twice this week had to admit that the situation in Turkey is "confused."

As columnist Mete Belovacikli wrote yesterday in the Ankara-based "Turkish Daily News," "For the first time, the probability that elections will be postponed is high."

6. - AFP - "Turkish coalition partner proposes delaying November elections":

ANKARA / 12 Sept 2002

A Turkish deputy prime minister on Thursday suggested that early general elections scheduled for November be postponed for over a month amid reports of a budding rebellion within parliament to push back the date for the poll.

In July, parliament brought elections forward from April 2004 to November 3 following a government crisis, but many MPs are now unhappy about the move as they fear they might lose their seats. Deputy prime minister Mesut Yilmaz, who heads the ruling coalition's centre-right Motherland Party (ANAP), said delaying the elections would give Turkey time to strengthen its bid to join the European Union ahead of the EU's Copenhagen December 12-13 summit, the Anatolia news agency reported.

"It would be a healthy solution to postpone the poll for a short time and hold it after the Copenhagen summit," Yilmaz told Turkish reporters in Brussels where he is attending the monthly meeting of the European Convention. "Elections could be postponed until December 15," the pro-European MP said. In the meantime, Turkey could work on completing the necessary legal and government work in a bid to make good on its self-imposed target of obtaining a date for the start of accession talks at the Copenhagen summit, when the EU is expected to draw up its enlargement calender.

"Turkey should not neglect what it has to do for its EU membership bid because of early elections," Yilmaz said. "Turkey would not suffer by holding elections a month later than scheduled, but it would suffer by missing the EU train," Yilmaz added. He had earlier strongly attacked his coalition partner, the Nationalist Action Party (MHP), over its attempt to get the constitutional court to scrap a series of key human rights reforms designed to bring Turkey closer to the European Union.

Arguing that the coalition government could not survive after the MHP's appeal, Yilmaz asked Ecevit to resign and for a more pro-EU government to be formed. Ecevit rejected Yilmaz's demand and accused him of seeking to delay the November 3 polls simply because the Motherland Party stands to lose all its seats in parliament. In an interview with the NTV news channel, Ecevit said postponing the election would further damage economic prospects at a time when the country is already in the grip of a crisis.

"What worries me the most is that this uncertainty will lead to economic problems just when there are signs of improvement," he said. Parliamentary sources said there were growing behind-the-scenes efforts by disgruntled MPs excluded from candidate lists to summon parliament back from its summer recess in a bid to postpone the elections.

7. - Turkish Daily News - "European Council criticizes Turkey":

ANKARA / 13 September 2002

The European Council Parliament prepared a report criticizing Turkey regarding its application of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) decisions.

The report that was prepared by Dutch Parliamentarian Erik Jurgens and a proposal decision connected with this report will be discussed and voted on in the general assembly meeting in Strasbourg in September.

There is serious criticism in the report towards Turkey regarding its implementation of compensations and giving back the rights of the people whose applications were found correct by the ECHR.

The report also said, "The EU reforms enacted in Turkish Parliament in August were welcomed and these reforms will help to prevent human rights violations."

The report also called the Turkish government to retry Leyla Zana and her friends.

8. - Anadolu Agency - "Yilmaz: Elections In Germany Are Very Important For Turkey - E.U. Relations":

BRUSSELS / 12 September 2002

Deputy Prime Minister Mesut Yýlmaz said on Thursday that the results of the general elections in Germany carried great importance in respect of Turkey-EU relations.

Speaking in the news conference in Brussels, Yýlmaz said that ''I came to Brussels late last night. I had an appointment with European Parliament Liberal Group's chairman Graham Watson early this morning. But I could not have the chance to meet with the officials at Turkey's EU Representation in Brussels. I start my contacts after meeting with them every time I come to Brussels. I requested Mr. Watson to postpone our meeting.''

Giving information about his meeting with Christian Democrat Group Chairman Hans Gert Poettering, Yýlmaz said that ''I gave detailed information to him about our studies regarding Turkey's EU membership process. I voiced our expectations from Copenhagen summit. The Christian Democrat Group has different tendencies towards Turkey.

Particularly the British Conservative Party supports Turkey's membership. German Christian Democrats are divided into two about Turkey. Some of them think that it is early to give Turkey a negotiation date. Poettering said that there are different tendencies within his group, but they welcome the adoption of latest legal regulations in Turkey. He told me that they want to see also the implementation of these laws.''

''We also discussed the political developments. The social democrats and Greens coalition government which is in power looks like they will be ahead in the elections. However, until recently, the opposition looked quite strong. I hope that this picture would shape up in a way that we want in the next ten days. This would help us greatly at the Copenhagen Summit but we also should continue our contacts,'' he said.

Yilmaz said that EU Commissioner for Enlargement Guenter Verheugen made conflicting statements. ''I can only make a comment after I meet with him tonight. Verheugen, generally, is a person who wants to contribute to Turkey's EU membership process. Of course he might be more cautious now in his statements due to his political identity. As of October, everybody will start revealing their own views more clearly,'' he said.

''We don't want to raise the Cyprus issue in our relations with the EU,'' he continued. ''But we explain our stance if they ask us a question on this issue. We think that the Cyprus question is independent from Turkey-EU relations. We're continuing our efforts to bring a solution to Cyprus.''

Yilmaz indicated that the upcoming early elections was also a topic during his contacts in Brussels.

''I've told them that there is still a great number of people who haven't decided what party to vote for and a clearer picture will be formed in the coming weeks,'' he said.

Responding to a question, Yilmaz said that there's a possibility that the elections could be postponed to a later date. ''My party thinks that the elections could be rescheduled,'' he added.